God is For You
God always and only thinks about performing good things in your life. He is never against you in any way. Your faith will lack and not prevail until you have fully received that truth. Luke 2:14 is a verse usually reserved for Christmas cards but how seldom we have grasped its truth. The verse is quoting the angelic messengers who spoke to the shepherds in the fields the night Christ was born. The verse reads, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN.” Those angels were not Hallmark employees. They had a message for humanity: “God’s will towards you is now good. The giving of His Son proves His will towards you.” Many have thought that this verse declares political peace between nations but that is not the topic of the verse. God was calling a peace accord with mankind. God was setting aside His justified anger with a rebellious human race. God believed that His gift was so large that mankind could never again accuse Him of withholding good.
Romans 8:31 is a verse that enlarges our faith. When you have received its truth you will never again wonder about the goodness of your Heavenly Father. You will realize that He only desires to move on your behalf. It says, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” This verse eliminates all the bad doctrine flying around trying to convince you that God is producing ills in your life to teach you lessons. God has eternally recorded in His Word that His will towards you is only good. Modern Christian songs sing about God bringing terrible things in your life for sovereign reasons. Many denominations will teach this idea from their pulpits. And in every instance where a Christian thinks that God is opposing them, faith is being destroyed and replaced with unbelief. We have accused God of the devil’s device and called it worship. We thought God was the author of the test and we considered it faithfulness to endure. All the while we insulted God’s character.
There was a point in time when Christians adopted this idea because it was easier to say that God was behind the destruction to make people feel better about why bad things happened to them. We replaced faith with sympathy and in the end neither was accomplished. We should have said, “There is hope because there is a God who can only produce good.” We should have said, “What the devil meant for evil, God can make it good. (Gen 50:20) It will turn. It must turn because your Father is always good.” We didn’t say that and the faith of the generations was fatally wounded.
Did you notice the question that you were asked in Romans 8:31? The question was, “What shall we say to these things?” What are you saying about God’s goodness? I dare you to admit God’s good will toward you. As you pray, thank God for having good thoughts towards you. Draw near as you realize: God is for you!
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
